XYZ Robotics launched its automation solution for goods receiving at the BAUHAUS central warehouse in Krefeld, Germany.
BAUHAUS is a leading home improvement retailer in Europe, operating more than 290 specialty centers across 19 countries. Its Krefeld center handles thousands of inbound shipments daily across over 10,000 SKUs. Cartons vary widely in shape, weight, and stacking, long beyond the reach of conventional automation.
Manual container unloading involves repetitive lifting in confined spaces and harsh temperatures, which contributes to high turnover and injury risk.
Inside XYZ Robotics’ solution
XYZ Robotics addressed BAUHAUS’ challenges with an end-to-end system. The system, based on the RockyOne and RockyOne SE robots, automates the entire process from shipping container to shelf-ready pallet, improves operational consistency, and frees up the team so they can focus on more fulfilling tasks.
RockyOne autonomously enters shipping containers to unload loose cartons of varied sizes and orientations. As cartons come through, a barcode scanning system identifies each one for real-time sorting. RockyOne SE then builds pallets to customer-defined patterns, creating stable, storage-ready output.
XYZ designed RockyOne for heavy payloads and rapid operations, particularly in loading and unloading trucks, trailers, and containers. The system can simultaneously pick multiple cases from different faces and place them in various orientations. It can handle large and heavy boxes up to 30 kg (66.1 lbs), and withstands high temperatures in demanding environments. Additionally, it occupies a minimal footprint and can navigate autonomously.
XYZ Robotics develops mobile manipulation robots (MMR) for truck loading, unloading, and case picking. Founded in 2018, the company serves industry-leading customers worldwide, with branches in Germany, the United States, China, Japan, and South Korea.
BAUHAUS’ results so far
With Rocky robots, operators shift from heavy manual work to supervising the system through a tablet interface. Daily operation is simple and requires minimal training.
“Since going live, the system has run reliably around the clock without manual intervention. Our team can now focus on higher-value work,” said Torsten Winter, the vice president of operations (warehousing & transport) at BAHAG / BAUHAUS AG. “We are already exploring where else to apply this across our network. With XYZ Robotics, we have a reliable and forward-thinking partner by our side, closely supporting us on this journey.”
Following the Krefeld deployment, XYZ Robotics is expanding its European footprint to serve more warehouse and distribution operators, with local teams providing full lifecycle support.